Artificial conversational entities, or conversation bots, are computer programs that engage with end users in conversations. A messaging bot is type of conversation bot that converses with end users through text messaging, for example. Conversational bots have proliferated in recent times and are becoming common features of the communication landscape, serving in a variety of operational circumstances and situations.
For example, airlines may utilize customer service bots to provide customer service to end users through their text messaging applications, in lieu of phone calls. Retail organizations may utilize shopping bots to assist users with searching for and purchasing goods and services. In most of these cases, the use of a bot relieves the end user of having to reach a party through a dedicated website or application. Rather, the end user can simply converse with a commercial entity's conversational bot using a messaging application or other such general purpose communication tools.
While relatively popular with end users, the potential over-proliferation of bots may at times result in sub-optimal device performance and sub-optimal user experiences. Bots presently enjoy almost unfettered access to end users, so long as a given operational entity behind a bot has a user's contact information. For example, a bot can be deployed to text an end user repeatedly, and at inopportune moments, at little to no cost to its operator. Such communications can waste device resources, such as battery life and processing power, and are especially frustrating to users when originating from contextually irrelevant bots.